PC Symptoms Questiona

The first sign usually for pancreatic cancer is back pain,At least that’s what I’ve read and what my husband had. Has she had unexplained weight loss and exhaustion?? Hope it’s nothing serious.

An endoscopic exam would give you a better look at what was happening in the pancreas

Our oncologist told us that the genetic form of pancreatic adenocarcinoma often responds well to more treatments than the non-genetic kind. I would get an appointment with your doctor as soon as possible and tell them you want a CT scan of your pancreas and tell them all of your symptoms. Don't give up until they check, and if they don't see anything, tell them you want them to test a stool sample for pancreatic enzymes and do another scan in a month or so.

The symptoms often don't show up until the cancer has progressed so it is important to go to the doctor ASAP. We are also finding that it's taking a long time to get an appointment because so many people are being diagnosed with cancer right now and there is a shortage of nurses and doctors in a lot of places... so please don't wait.

Symptoms to watch for include back pain that seems to come from inside the body or seems to radiate from the abdomen around to the back, gastric discomfort and issues like diarrhea or constipation, bowel movements that are light-colored and float to the surface due to undigested fats, and possibly yellowing of the whites of the patient's eyes (if the liver is affected) or sudden onset of diabetes (if the tumor has taken over too much of the head of the pancreas, where insulin is produced). Fatigue, weight loss, and a change in the color of the skin are also possible. I had a friend who passed from pancreatic cancer and his eyes turned yellow and his skin turned a sickly greenish color several months before. He also lost about 50 pounds in 2 or 3 months.

My husband's first symptom was back pain but he complained that it felt like the pain was coming from inside his internal organs, not from the back muscles or the spine (so it seemed unlikely that he hurt his back lifting something or that he had arthritis). I told him to go to the doctor and he chose not to. He complained of this pain on and off over several months, then he started having terrible issues with constipation. I begged him to see the doctor and he chose to wait. After about 8 months of symptoms, he had a CT scan and they told him they didn't find anything. I suspect that they missed the early signs of a tumor at that point but we have no proof. He continued to have gastric issues (constipation, bloating, gas, discomfort) and back pain that got worse. So he went back to the doctor and this time they had him collect a stool sample to test for pancreatic enzymes... they couldn't find enough of the enzymes and sent him in for another CT scan. The second scan showed a tumor in the head of the pancreas that was almost 4 cm across. So these tumors can grow incredibly fast.

I hope that your symptoms are not pancreatic cancer. Please see your doctor and let us know how you are doing. Take care.